“Slap a pair of jeans on her and she almost looks like a biker babe,” Maddie said, eyeing me in the mirror as she applied a coat of lip gloss to her already red lips.
“Don’t be a bitch, Maddie. She is a biker babe,” Jenn said, walking up to me and wrapping me in her arms. She smelled good, and her hug was motherly. Her embrace gave me reassurance and I let Maddie’s comment roll off my back. She walked up to me until she was in my personal space. Not a good idea. I cocked my eyebrow at her and stood my ground, letting her know that she did not intimidate me.
“I’m not gonna pretend I like you. I’m sorry about what happened with Frankie, but that doesn’t change anything,” she said to me, not even looking me in the eyes, only examining her fingernails. Bitch. If I was going to be around, maybe it was time we just got this over with. “Maddie, why do you hate me so much? Is it Luke? Do you want him or something?” So maybe I shouldn’t have said that. I felt the air in the room shift and you could cut the tension with a knife. Apparently, I had struck a nerve. Maddie closed the distance between us, until she was so close that when she spoke her warm, peppermint breath tickled my nose.
“You don’t know shit. This is my family. That includes Luke. I love him, but not in the way you think.”
“Well, maybe you should enlighten me, because right now I don’t know and I don’t care who you are. I love him and it’s in the way you think. This is my family too, so if you have a secret to share or something to say, now is the time to do it. Ever since I have been around, your place here has been a big secret, so if you expect me to know shit and have a little more patience with your fucking attitude then you better start talking.”
I was now seething. My nostrils flared as I stared down Maddie. She was just as stubborn as me and not backing down. I had a feeling this was about to come to blows. My best plan of action was to just wait for her to make the first move. I didn’t need Luke saying I was starting shit and I didn’t want the other girls to jump on me for hitting her first. My head was pounding. My pulse was racing. My eyes had blocked out everything in the room but her. My ears were not as easy to tune out the noise and I could hear the other girls in the room trying to calm us down. Monica had stepped to my right and her voice was in a fog, but I could make out the words, “please, just let it go” that were whispered close to my head.
When the door swung open and a loud “Hey!” was shouted, neither of us budged. I knew it was Luke and the thought pissed me off more. If she let her beady little pathetic eyes sway the slightest in his direction I was going to cut her fucking throat. Arms that I knew could belong to no one but Luke grabbed me and hauled me out of the bathroom and through the crowded clubhouse. He pushed me through the group of people that had formed outside the door, forcing my feet to move. People got out of our way without hesitation and I could feel every eye in the room on me. This normally would have been embarrassing, but I was so pissed that all I could think about was ripping Maddie’s head off. The noise had died down and I was beginning to remember who I was and what was happening.
Everyone here was hiding something when it came to Maddie. Red had told me that her story was for Luke to tell. It seemed that I was the only one out of the loop which pissed me off even more.
We neared the doors and they were opened for us as Luke escorted me outside with his hand wrapped tightly around my waist. He never broke stride as we crossed the sidewalk, into the carport and entered the house. I could hear laughter throughout the house and noticed that kids were here. They didn’t seem to notice us, and I didn’t have time to get a count of how many of them were there. Luke steered me through the kitchen, living room, and into his bedroom. Once inside, he let go of me and turned to lock the door.
Chapter 6
Dallas
“What happened?” he immediately asked, once the door was closed and we were alone.
“She fucking happened. This is the third time, Luke. The third fucking time that I have had to deal with her shit. What the fuck is going on? Who is she and why is she here?” My body shook slightly with the anger that was coursing through my veins. Luke ran his hands through his hair and paced the room. I watched him as he walked from one side to the other. He looked to be trying to figure out what in the hell to say to me. “The truth, Luke. The truth is the best way to go with this. I can handle it, just tell me. I don’t care if she is your ex, but I need to know. I look like a damn fool! Everyone knows what is going on but me. If you have had your dick in her, that’s fine, but I deserve to know.”